Most experienced vendors will readily tell you what they value most about the interaction they had with their agent during the selling process. Vendors report that up-to-date information about inspections – who came through when and what they said – is what eases the stress and makes them feel more central to the process.

Unfortunately, many vendors fail to receive the reassurance of regular feedback, because inexperienced or less professional agents only communicate good news – after all bad news (such as not many inspections or bad feedback) is no fun and can be a psychological barrier to communication for the faint of heart!

Agents who balk at picking up the phone don’t realise that the message vendors actually get from silence is that the agent is doing very little on their behalf. Over time this leads to lack of trust which causes the relationship between vendor and agent to break down, ultimately jeopardising the sale process.

After all, if the agent is frightened to call during the marketing process unless the news is good, are they likely to be skilled enough to negotiate a purchaser to the highest price when the time comes?

Conversely, if they have lost the vendor’s trust, will they be able to persuade the vendor to believe in them if the best offer is not as high as the owners were after?

Vendors thinking about choosing an agent should look at how the agent communicates with them even at the earliest stages. Do they ‘tell’ you what your needs are or do they ask questions so they can best find out how to meet them? If your agent isn’t letting you know what’s going on, communicate your wish to hear even the bad news. Insist that you get a call after every inspection.

An agent who has taken the time to build rapport with a vendor during post-inspection feedback, during good news and bad, is more likely to understand the vendor’s needs and be able to represent them during the negotiation process. This means fewer lost opportunities and most often a higher sale price at the end of the day.

Matthew Wigger
0432 857 307
matthew@mcdonaldpartners.com.au